Be My Escape
by Tea1689
Summary: He lost the two most important people in his life, his parents...fourteen years ago. But even today, he is dealing with the grief. When someone he once knew comes back into his life, will he be able to handle it? Or will he push them away?
1. I Will Remember You

_Hey guys...  
I started writing this story a while ago, but I am just now posting on this site.  
This story is about the gang and their children, focussing mainly on Brooke and Lucas' son._

Summary:He lost the two most important people in his life...fourteen years ago. But even today, he is dealing with the grief. When someone he once knew comes back into his life, will he be able to handle it? Or will he push them away?

**I WILL REMEMBER YOU  
CHAPTER 1**

Did you ever have one of those dreams, that when you get woken up, you wish you could get back to? A dream where you can't wait to go back to sleep just so you can finish it? But what if you never actually had that dream, but instead you wanted to have it? You think I'm crazy now right? Well let me ask you this…what if it wasn't a dream you were trying to get back to, but it was your life?

That's how my life is. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have a horrible life, but its not the life I would dream about. If I got to choose it, this wouldn't be the one.

It's been twelve years since that day I lost two of the most important people who have ever been in my life. It's been twelve years, and although most of the memories of that day have faded away I still have one, the one where I'm looking down at those people in their caskets and the look on the peoples faces around me.

When I lay down at night to go to sleep, those two peoples faces are the last ones in my mind; a picture of them is hung on my ceiling so I see them when I go to sleep, and I see them when I wake up.

Now who are these people, you are probably wondering. Well those people are my parents, Lucas and Brooke Scott; they were killed in a car accident when I was just two. My Uncle Nathan and my Aunt Haley have raised me since.

I sit up refreshed and pull on some shorts and a shirt, careful not to trip on one of the many objects spread around my room. Before I head down the hall I grab the necklace I always wear and slip it around my neck. Uncle Nate says that my mom gave it to my dad when they first started dating. I check in the mirror one last time and laugh at my disheveled style. My dirty blond hair juts out every which way, my clothes are wrinkled, but it's who I am.

"Morning." I greet them in the kitchen. I grab a pop tart from the cabinet and my backpack from the closet and I'm ready for school. "Ryan, lets go." I call into the living room as I grab my keys and walk to my truck. He runs out a few minutes later and jumps in beside me. I back out of the driveway quickly and speed off down the street.

"I'd prefer to get there alive." Ryan laughs as he clutches the armrest. Smiling, I hit the gas pedal and the truck roars loudly as I fly down the road. I slow down as we come into town so I won't hit anybody. "Hey, can we pick up Emma?" He questions. So my cousin Ryan, he's pretty cool. He's one of my best friends. He was born a year after I was; he's fifteen, I'm sixteen.

I take a sharp turn around the corner and head to the familiar house. "What's with you two anyway?" I ask him. "Are you dating, just friends, friends with benefits?"

"Friends." He states quickly. I laugh at his lame attempt to cover his true feelings that I know he has for her. "What about you, dating anyone?"

"Nah." I give him a small smile. See, that's the thing about me; I don't like to let people get close. There are just six people in my life that get to see the real me; My uncle Nate, my Aunt Haley, My grandma Karen, My grandpa Keith, my cousin Ryan, and then my best friend, Ashley.

I pull up to the small house and Ryan jumps out quickly and knocks on the door. Emma appears a few minutes later and he walks her back and lets her sit up front. "Hey." She offers me a polite smile and I give one back.

"Anyone else?" I question as I back out and pull away. Ryan laughs and shakes his head. I speed off down the road again as Ryan talks with Emma, both sharing quiet laughs about something that happened yesterday. I pull over again and park; I jump and they follow suit. I walk up the sidewalk and push the familiar door open, the bells jingling as I enter.

"Hey Mikey." She greets as we walk in. We've always had this special kind of relationship, one that I'm grateful to have. "Hi Ryan, Emma." She says as we take a seat on the stools.

"How's my favorite grandma?" I question as she hands me my usual coffee. She laughs as I hand her the money for it.

"Grandma." She smiles. "You make me feel old." I take a sip as I laugh. It's become a morning ritual for us; everyday Ryan and I head off to school, pick up Emma, stop at the café and I get my coffee, then we actually go to school.

"Well what else am I supposed to call you?" I question curiously. She sighs and shrugs her shoulders. "Where's grandpa?" I wonder out loud. She, that's another weird thing about me, well not me, but my family. My 'grandpa' was my dad's uncle Keith, but to me he's like a grandfather, like he was a father to my dad.

"He's at the shop." She states as she wipes the counters off. "Shouldn't you be leaving, you're gonna be late."

"You're right." I say standing and hitting Ryan, disrupting him from his constant flirting with Emma. "Thanks for the coffee." I say holding the door open for Ryan and Emma to exit. "Do you need help here after school? I don't mind stopping by."

"I don't know." She states.

"Well call me." I say stepping out of the door and letting it swing shut. I press the button on my key chain and my truck roars to life. We all get in and in a matter of minutes we arrive at the school. Ryan and Emma go off their separate way and I head off in another.

"Hey there cutie." Ashley laughs as she walks up beside me joining our arms together. I laugh at her flirty greeting, it seems odd to me because we're just friends. We've always had a weird relationship too. I grab her books from her hands and skim through them.

"Keep talking like that and people are going to start getting the wrong idea." I state as we walk up towards my locker. I detangle my arm from hers and unlock it and take out the books I need.

"Who cares what they think?" She laughs lightly. I shut my locker, my books in hand, and walk towards hers.

"I don't." I state. "I was just saying." We continue to walk down the hall, avoiding people so nothing happens. But suddenly my books go crashing to the floor and a football player is standing over them laughing. Without looking at him I bend down and pick them up silently, just letting him get away with it.

"Chris." Ryan says walking up beside me and addressing the guy. "Just leave him alone."

"I can't help it if he's a geek." Chris laughs again. He sighs at Ryan's serious expression and gives him a pat on the back before walking away.

"Thanks." I sigh as he hands me another book. See in school, I'm what you would call a 'loner'. Ryan on the other hand, he's one of the popular kids; we are almost total opposites, maybe that's why we get along so well. He plays basketball so he's one of the stars in the school.

"No wonder they think you're a dork." Ryan laughs playfully as he points to my choice of reading material. "Steinbeck? Who reads this stuff?"

I offer him a weak smile as I shift the book to my other hand. "My dad." I say quietly and he can tell he hit a sore spot. A couple years ago my Uncle Nate showed me these boxes of books that he kept in the garage; he told me that my dad used to read them. So one day I snuck in there and picked one up, it was 'The Winter of Our Discontent' by John Steinbeck. And when I finished it, I was hooked. I used to sneak in there and just read them for hours until one day my Aunt Haley found me reading them. The next day my Uncle Nate helped me build some bookshelves and put the books on them in my room; it's like I have my own library in my room now.

"Hey man." Ryan says apologetically. "I didn't mean anything about it. About your dad."

"No big deal." I hit his chest lightly. I wave goodbye as the bell rings and Ashley and I head off to our first period class together, math. I take my usual seat, and Ashley takes hers, right beside me.

"Mr. Scott." Mrs. Smith says sarcastically. "Ms. Thomas, what a pleasure to have you both on time for class." Ashley laughs and I give her a small smile.

"I try." I laugh as the second bell rings. Mrs. Smith drones on again, like she does everyday. I have to force myself to stay awake.

"Hey Mikey." I hear Ashley whisper as a small paper ball hits the side of my head. I turn my head to her, a questioning look on my face. She holds her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Hey Ash." I whisper back mimicking her actions. She sticks her tongue out childishly and now it's my turn to try not to laugh.

"Do you understand this stuff?" She questions motioning to the book laid out on her desk. I nod, telling her that I do. "Can you help me later? I can't fail another test."

"If my grandma doesn't need me." I whisper quietly back. "You know, if you paid more attention to the teacher than me then you wouldn't need my help in the first place." I smirk at her.

"Mr. Scott." Mrs. Smith interrupts our conversation. We both quickly turn our attention towards the front. "I asked if you had the answer."

"Uh, seven?" I smile questioningly as everyone turns his or her attention towards me. I can't stop the reddish tint from appearing on my face.

"Actually yes." Mrs. Smith says in shock. I laugh quietly to myself. "Pay attention to me, not Ms. Thomas." She says going back to her lesson. Finally the bell rings and we both dart from the room before she can hold us back.

We part ways for the next two periods, with promises that we will meet up for lunch at our usual spot. The two periods pass painfully slow, but thankfully it is lunch, and after that there is only one more class to go.

"Mmm, salad, tasty." I mock as I take a seat next to Ashley. She shrugs as she takes another bite of it. "So how was English?" I question her.

She doesn't respond with words, but instead grunts. I have to laugh. "Mr. Allen wouldn't shut up. He kept going on and on about, well I dunno, I wasn't paying attention." She laughs. "What about you?"

"Eh, boring." I say setting my bag down by my feet. "I already know the stuff, so I just kinda space out." I pick up my sandwich and take a big bite out.

"Hey guys." Jenny says sitting down next to us. Jenny, my sorta cousin who is a year older than me. She's Jake and Peyton's daughter. But they are so close to our family that Ryan refers to them as our uncle and aunt. But like I said, I don't let that many people that close.

"Hey." We both offer. "What's up?" I ask.

"Not much." She replies as she is looking around. "You guys seen Danny?" She questions. Danny is her boyfriend, they've been dating for almost a year. Danny is also on the football team, but he is at least civil, dare I say friendly, to me, most likely on Jenny's request.

"Not today." Ashley replies. Jenny sighs, offers us a goodbye wave and walks away. "So anyway…" Ashley says starting up a conversation, "I was talking to Ryan last period, and he said they have some spots open on the team."

"No way." I say determinedly as I shake my head for emphasis. "He already tried to get me to play and I told him no."

"Why not Mikey?" Ashley questions, her full attention now on me. "You're really good, you would make the team."

"So what?" I reply. "I know I'm good, I just don't want to play."

"But you do play. You play everyday at the river court." She counters.

"I just don't want to play for the school." I say trying to get her to drop the subject, but of course, I know she isn't going to.

"Why not?" She demands. "Why play at some stupid playground when you can play in the gym, with a team, where it matters?"

"A stupid playground?" I repeat disbelievingly. I stand up quickly, a new anger washing over me. "You know, I thought you knew me better than that." I say picking up my bag.

"Mikey." She pleads standing up to stop me. "I didn't mean that." She says as I start to walk away. "Where are you going?"

"I dunno." I say walking back towards my truck. "Probably some place stupid." I say slamming the door shut and speeding off, leaving her standing there.


	2. Be My Escape

Hey...  
So, here's chapter 2.  
Just wanted to say thanks to those who read and reviewed.

Summary:He lost the two most important people in his life...fourteen years ago. But even today, he is dealing with the grief. When someone he once knew comes back into his life, will he be able to handle it? Or will he push them away?

**BE MY ESCAPE  
CHAPTER 2**

Not many people in my life get to see the real me, they don't get to see who I really am, what I like, what I don't like. I don't like to let people get too close, and when they do, I tend to start to push them away. It's a defense mechanism I guess, if I don't let them get close then it won't hurt when they leave.

There is only one person in my life that knows every little unimportant detail of my life, knows every dark corner of my mind. One person that I can tell anything and know that they won't hold it against me or take off running if they don't like it. One person that I can truly confide in and know they won't tell a single soul. So what am I supposed to do when that person is the one I'm trying to avoid right now?

I swing my truck around and park it, grab my ball from the back seat and make my way out onto the court. I take a few dribbles and shoot and it goes straight in, all net. I run up and grab the shabby ball, the ball my dad gave me at my birthday right before he died.

Whenever I need to think, or just get away from the outside world, this is where I come, the river court. It's where I can be myself and play without any worries. I get to shoot around a little longer before I see a car pull up beside my truck. The driver gets out and walks towards me.

"Skipping school again Mikey?" He questions. He motions for the ball and I pass it to him. He shoots it and it goes in, but it doesn't surprise me because I know he used to play, and now he is the coach.

"It's Mike." I correct him. With a slight smile I ask him, "I could ask you the same thing Jake." He laughs as he shoots the ball again.

"Well when you didn't show up for gym, and Ashley said you stormed off, I figured you would be here." Jake replied. He passes me the ball, but I don't shoot it, instead just wait for him to tell me why he is here.

"And?" I question. "If it's that big of a deal just give me detention." He laughs again, but I don't.

"Why won't you play?" He questions me.

"Like I told Ryan and Ashley, I do play." I say motioning around the secluded playground.

"Your dad didn't want to play either." Jake offers. "But when he finally did, he was great. He had the time of his life, and that's how he met your mom. That's how he met me, and Peyton, and that's how he finally became brothers with Nate."

"So what?" I ask. "If I were to agree to play, you would just give me a spot on the team?"

"How bout this?" Jake begins. "You play a game against Ryan. If you win, then we leave you alone about playing. But if he wins, then you are on the team."

"That's it?" I state not really believing him. "If I win you just drop it?"

He nods, "One condition though. You have to play at the gym, tonight at seven." Behind him another car pulls up, one that I could recognize anywhere. Jake starts to back away and she walks up.

"Mikey." Ashley calls as she walks up next to Jake. I see Jake raise his brow at that, but I don't care, I just turn my attention back towards her. Jake waves as he drives away. "I didn't mean what I said earlier."

"Don't worry about it." I smile as I walk closer to her. "I overreacted anyway. It's just that…this place. I mean…I could play basketball anywhere. But this court, it has so many memories. This is where my father came from, and when I play here, it just makes me feel closer to him, like he is here watching me."

"And I know that." She replies. "But he also played in that gym. You're letting this place hold you back; you're letting your fears hold you here."

"Jake wants me to play against Ryan tonight, in the gym." I inform her. "I don't know if I'm going to or not."

"I think you should." She states. I shrug lightly and throw my arm around her shoulder and guide her back towards our cars. "I'll be there tonight. I hope you decide to play."

She gets in her car and speeds off down the street. I sit in my truck, my engine running, staring at the court. I take one last glance before I speed off towards the café. Parking my truck I jump out and head into the building.

"Mikey." My grandma smiles as I walk behind the counter and grab an apron. "Thanks, we're getting swamped." She says as she hands me a pen and notepad.

"I figured." I smile. I make my way around taking orders for the better half of an hour before the place finally starts to clear out. I sit down exhausted at the counter as my grandma gives me a sandwich.

"So I heard about the game." She says with a wide smile on her face. "Two more hours. You gonna go?"

I shrug as I take another bite. "I dunno."

She stares at me for a second before grabbing a napkin and writing something on it. "I want you to go to this address Mikey." She says placing the napkin in front of me.

I stare at the napkin and then back up at her confused. "What's there?"

"Just go." She pushes the napkin towards me. "It's a little ways away, but if you hurry you can make it back here in time."

I nod and make my way outside and into my truck. I've already been driving for twenty minutes and I'm just now getting into town. I take a few turns and look at the house numbers; finally I come upon it and I park on the street.

I knock nervously on the front door, not quite sure what to expect. The door opens a few seconds later, and an older man is standing on the other side. "Can I help you?" He questions, and I jump a little at his loud voice.

"I uh…" I say backing up some. "I think I got the wrong address."

"Hey." He says stepping out onto the porch before I can make it down the stairs. "Who are you looking for?"

"Whitey Durham." I state looking at the napkin. He looks me up and down, studying me, trying to figure out who I am.

"Who are you?" He questions. He tilts his head to the side, as if he was trying to remember something, or as if he had seen me before.

"Michael." I state. "My grandma gave me this address, told me to come here."

He continues to stare at me as he takes a seat on a rocker beside him. I can't help but fidget nervously as he takes me in. "Who's your grandma?"

"Karen." I answer him. I can tell by his reaction that it means something to him. His lips start to curl up into a small smile.

"Karen Roe." He states, I nod. He leans forward slightly and lifts his glasses from his eyes to look at me again. "Little Mikey." He laughs to himself. It's my turn to be confused; only people I know ever call me by that. "Come, sit." He says motioning to the chair beside him. I sit nervously, still not sure why my grandma sent me to this guy.

"I'm sorry." I give him an anxious smile. "I'm not sure how you know me."

"How's your Uncle Nathan?" He questions eagerly. "He still married to that brunette girl?"

"He's uh, fine." I answer. "He's married to my Aunt Haley. They have a son, Ryan, he's fifteen."

"Wow." He smiles widely. "Nate has a son. I thought his father screwed him up way to much for him to ever be a father." I am still trying to figure out who he is and how he knows so much about my family history. "Is he a good father?"

"I, I guess so." I stutter a little. "He doesn't hit us or anything."

"What about your grandma, how's she doing?" Who is this guy? And why does he want to know about everybody?

"She's good." I say fidgeting with my shirt. "She works at the café, and sometimes my grandpa helps out."

"Grandpa?" He looks at me curiously. "Karen got married?"

"No sir." I shake my head. "My grandpa Keith."

"Keith!" He exclaims. "I almost forgot about him."

"He isn't married either." I tell him. "He just opened up a car shop a few years back."

"What about you Mikey?" He smiles at me. "What brings you by? How's your life?"

"My grandma said that I should come see you." I inform him. "We were talking about basketball, and then she gave me this address and said to talk to you."

"Basketball." He smiles again. "Your daddy and Uncle Nate were two of the best players I ever coached. They loved the game, and they sure as hell were good at it."

"You knew my dad?" I question him curiously.

"I coached him during high school." He states. "He was a great player. A great man. And your mom, she was something, a real firecracker. They were complete opposites, but somehow they fit. They were crazy in love, and they were crazy about you."

"So any idea why my grandma sent me here?" I question looking at my watch.

"Well you mentioned basketball, you play?" He questions. I nod and he continues. "Let me guess, you play at the river court?" I nod again. "And someone wants you to play for the school?"

"How do you know?" I am now curious.

"Your just like your dad." He laughs to himself. "Son, I'm not gonna give you some big speech. Instead I'll tell you this: Play for that school. Your dad did, and I can guarantee that he did not regret it for a second. If he never did, then he never would have met your mom, and then you never would have been born. He lived for you. I know that he would not change it for anything. Joining my team was probably the best decision of his life."

"I should get going." I smile politely as I stand up. "Thanks for the advice."

"Hold up." He says reaching into his back pocket. "Give this to Nate." He said handing me a card with some phone numbers on it. He reached into his pocket again and pulled out an old tattered photo. "Here. I think you should have this."

I smiled down at the picture, a lump forming in my throat. It was my mom and dad. "That was when they were your age. It was right after him and Nate won the state championship."

"Wow." I smiled lightly as I was trying to hold in a few tears.

"That was the same night your daddy asked her to marry him." Whitey smiled again. My head shot up at his statement. Nobody had ever told me this story before. "They had just won the game, and were celebrating on the court. Your daddy looked up into the stands, grabbed the microphone from the announcer and walked into the middle of the court."

"What did he say?" I asked impatiently.

"Nothing special." Whitey said trying to remember. "He stood in the center of the court, looked up at your mom and asked her to marry him. Then he started running up to where she was sitting, Nate threw him a small box and he knelt down in front of your mom with the ring. A few seconds later he slipped it on her finger and then they kissed."

"Thanks." I smile genuinely. "I gotta go. It was nice to meet you."

He waves goodbye as I get in my truck and drive away. I speed up when I notice that I have to be at the gym in five minutes. I finally arrive at the school, and there are a few cars in the parking lot.

I enter the gym, and it's mesmerizing; this is the first time I've ever been in here. I stand in the middle of the court and take it in. I can almost picture my dad playing; I can picture it full of people cheering him on. I can picture my mom cheering him on from the sidelines.

"You ready?" Ryan said holding the ball out to me. I nod as I take the ball from him. I dribble for a few seconds but he steals it away and scores. I hand him the ball and he dribbles and scores again. "That all you got?"

He goes to shoot again but I block it and I hear people laugh from the benches. I dribble to the ball around him and score. We continue going back and forth until it's tied at ten, the next basket wins and it's my ball.

If I make this shot then I win and I don't have to play; if he makes the next shot then I have to play. I dribble the ball around him some, not letting him get it as I move closer to the rim. I turn towards the right, but then quickly fake back left and it leaves me with a clear shot to the basket. I take a shot and it bounces off the backboard and falls right into Ryan's hands. He shoots the ball and wins the game.

I just shrug my shoulders and watch as they congratulate him. Jake walks over and starts to smile. "Practice is at three, don't be late." Eventually everyone leaves, except Ashley.

"So." She says as she sits next to me on the court. "That was a pretty easy shot."

"What can I say?" I smile lightly. "Can't make them all the time."

"It's just weird." She raises her brow at me. "You can make those shots in your sleep."

"Yeah, weird." I laugh lightly. I'm not sure if I meant to miss the shot, if subconsciously I messed up on purpose, but I'm kinda glad I did. I want to see what it's like to play in front of a big crowd, feel what its like to play in a real game.

"Your dad would be proud." Ashley says quietly as we stare at each other. Ashley and I have known each other since we were nine. Our teacher paired us up on a project, and we've been friends ever since. She grabs my hand in hers, its nothing new for us, we always hold hands. But this time it feels different, something is different.

"I hope so." I whisper quietly as I stare into her eyes. I don't know what comes over me, but I find my self leaning in towards her, our lips almost touching. I can't help but feel butterflies in my stomach. She tilts her head up slightly, and our lips graze each other's; sparks start shooting through my body and I can't help but get caught up.

I use my other hand to hold her chin gently and pull her closer to me. Slowly I pulled away as I realized what I was doing. I stood up quickly as I watched her slowly open her eyes to face me. "I uh…I should go." I said quickly as I walked towards the doors.

"Michael." She stood up and ran towards me. She grabbed my arm as we left the gym. I spun to her quickly; she only used my full name when she was being serious and had something important to say. "What was that?"

I stood quiet for a second, trying to think of something to say. I started fidgeting nervously and looking anywhere but her eyes. "I gotta go." I said trying to shake my arm away from her.

"Michael Lucas Scott." She said gripping my arm as tight as she could, actually causing me to wince a little. I sighed, I should have known she wouldn't just let me leave. She bit her lip nervously, waiting for my answer. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm myself.

"You wanna know?" I question as I step towards her making her take a few steps back. She nods her head slightly, her eyes fixed intently on mine. I take her right hand in mine and lace our fingers together and push her up against the side of the building. I dip my head quickly and push my lips into hers.

At that second, all of my fears vanished. For that brief moment, everything in the world stopped and fell away, and the only thing that was left, was us. My heart sped up as her hand grazed the back of my neck, it send chills down my spine as she played with the small hairs.

"Mikey?" I heard Ryan coming around the corner looking for me. We broke the kiss, both of us out of breath and our hearts still racing. Suddenly the outside world came back, and I just wished that it would go away again.

"What Ryan?" I questioned as he walked into view. Luckily, we seemed to play it off well and he didn't suspect anything.

"Bad time?" He asked curiously. I shook my head no and he continued. "I wanted to know if you wanted to join me and Emma at the café for dinner. Ashley can come too."

"I'll be there in a sec." I stated and he took the hint to leave us alone. I stood staring at Ashley, a foolish grin on my lips. "Come on." I said pulling her hand.

"I dunno." She said as we walked back to our cars. "I think I should be heading home, it's late."

"We've been out later." I said putting on the saddest face I could. "Pretty please?" I begged sticking out my bottom lip for emphasis, something I knew always worked. She sighed and hit me lightly on the shoulder before nodding her head. She got in her car and I watched her drive off.

I got in my truck and found my self under the intense stare of Ryan and Emma. "So?" Ryan smiled.

"We've friends." I stated like he was annoying me. "Besides, you have no room to talk." I said as I backed out of the parking space and drove to the café. We arrive at the café and took our usual booth, Ashley next to me, Emma next to Ryan.

"Hey guys." My grandma greeted us with a smile. "What do you want?"

We all told her our orders as she wrote them down. "I'll help you." I said standing up and following her into the kitchen.

"You kissed her didn't you?" My grandma asked as soon as we were out of listening range of them. I looked at her confused, how would she know something like that? I swear sometimes she is psychic.

"What, I…uh." I stutter trying to think of something to say.

"Please." She said tapping my cheek lightly. "I can tell be your smile. That's the same expression your father had when he first met your mom."

"Do you miss him?" I didn't know where it came from, and it was a stupid question, but it just came out. I could tell she was shocked by her expression.

"Of course." She smiled sadly. She handed me the tray of food and turned me towards the door. "Now you get out there." I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before I went back to our booth.

We ate dinner together, laughing and talking about everything that was going on in our lives, minus me and Ashley, and everything that was going on in the world. "I should really get going." Ashley said standing up. "My mom is going to start to worry."

"Ya, Aunt Haley too." I said as I stood up. I followed Ashley to her house and jumped out and walked her up to her doorstep.

We both stood nervously, not really sure what to do. I looked back at the car and saw Ryan and Emma watching us, waiting for me to come back. "I'll uh…" I said with a small smile. I moved my lips next to her ear, "I'll kiss you later." I whispered, causing a laugh from her. I waited until she got inside before I went back to my truck.

After dropping Emma off, Ryan and I headed back into our house. I said goodnight to Uncle Nate and gave Aunt Haley a kiss before heading to me room. Exhausted from today I collapsed down on my bed, my eyes instantly landing on my picture.

'_I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake. I gotta get out of here.'_ Begins to fill my ears as I dig into my pocket for my phone. _'And I'm begging you, I'm begging you, I'm begging you to be my escape' _

"Hey…" Ashley says through the phone and even though I can't see her I can tell she is smiling. I'm staring up at the picture of my parents on my ceiling and I can't help but compare them to us. "I'm just thinking about you."

"Ya, me too..." I smile to myself.


	3. We Were Kids

Hey...

So I kinda forgot that I was posting my stories on this site, hence the lack of updates. But I won't forget again, so expect more updates soon.  
And I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing.  
Flashbacks are in italics. Now onto chapter 3...

Summary:He lost the two most important people in his life...fourteen years ago. But even today, he is dealing with the grief. When someone he once knew comes back into his life, will he be able to handle it? Or will he push them away?

**We Were Kids  
CHAPTER 3**

So here I am, dreaming again. If I could, I would never wake up. Because in my dreams, everything is perfect, everything is happy. My dreams are like Disney movies, the good guys always win, the boy gets the girl, and the family lives happily ever after.

If there is one point in the day that I hate the most it is when I first wake up; I am definitely not a morning person. The second you open your eyes, reality comes crashing down and you have to deal with the world.

I hear a light tapping on my bedroom door and I open my eyes to see Ryan staring at me. I can't really tell if he is shocked or amused by my current situation. I roll over carefully and stand, careful not to make a lot of noise as I push Ryan out the door into the hallway.

"Friends huh?" He smiles gesturing towards my bedroom door. I motion for him to be quiet so we don't wake anybody else up.

"It's not what it looks like." I whisper. He smiles, a questioning expression on his face.

_My outside door creaked open, light and cold night air filling my room. I slowly opened my eyes, trying to find out what was going on. "What the hell?" I questioned sleepily as I sat up in my bed. _

"_Hey." Ashley said walking nervously into my room. I scoot to one side of my bed and hold the blanket up for her to get in. After a second of hesitation she slides in next to me._

"_Ash…" I say pulling her close. I can feel her body shake as she sobs into my shoulder and I pull her closer. "What happened?"_

_She pulls away slightly, her eyes red and puffy. "Can we talk in the morning?" She asks quietly. I nod and lay down softly pulling her beside me. After a few minutes the bed stops shaking and I know that she finally fell asleep.  
_

"Well I wanted to see if you wanted to go for a run." Ryan stated. "Uncle Jake said to make sure that you were in shape."

"Uh, ya sure." I said still kinda tired. "I'll be right out." I stated as I walked back into my room to get dressed. I returned a few minutes later after writing a note and leaving it on my nightstand and getting dressed.

We started off down the street slow, taking our time so I could get used to it. It was still early, so the sun was barely up. It was peaceful out, not many people, and cars weren't filling the streets.

"So the first game is this Friday." Ryan stated. "You gonna be ready?"

"I hope so." I said smiling. Slowly we picked up the pace. We ran past all the shops that still weren't open, and past all the houses where people were still sleeping. Somehow we ended up running along the beach.

"Need a break?" Ryan asked noticing my heavy breathing. I nodded and we stopped for a moment. I lifted my arms on top of my head trying to catch my breath.

"Well, well, well." A voice broke over us. Both of our heads jerked up at the man. "It's like a flashback." He laughed to himself. I hated this man with every fiber of my being; I'm not sure why, but something about him…made me want to punch him.

"Like father like son huh?" He laughed in my direction. I stood up, my jaw clenched, my knuckles turning white as I fought to keep myself under control. "He always was a weak one."

"Just leave us alone Dan." Ryan snapped. I could tell that he was mad too. "You're just pissed cause our dads were smart enough to cut you out of their lives."

I grabbed Ryan's arm and pulled him backwards away from Dan. "Let's just go." I said and started to run back towards our house, eventually Ryan followed.

"Say hi to them for me!" He called after us. This time it was Ryan's turn to stop me from turning around and hitting him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. The rest of the time home was silent, just our feet hitting the pavement.

I opened the door to my bedroom, slamming it shut behind me forgetting that Ashley was still in there. I pulled my shirt over my head throwing it to the ground as I walked into my bathroom and turning on the shower water.

The water ran down my body, washing away everything. I just stood in there, not really caring if we were going to be late for school or if I was using up all the water. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door startling me. "Mikey, lets go." Uncle Nate yelled through the door. I stepped out and pulled on some shorts and walked out of the bathroom to find Ashley, Uncle Nate, Aunt Haley, and Ryan sitting in my room.

"What's going on?" I questioned as I ran the towel over my head. I could tell by the look on Uncle Nate's face that he wasn't too happy, and Ryan still looked pissed from earlier.

"Care to explain?" Uncle Nate questioned. He threw me a shirt and I pulled it over my head.

"Not right now." I said, my anger suddenly coming back. I grabbed my necklace and slipped it on and walked into the kitchen.

"Mikey." Uncle Nate said following me, everyone else behind him. I stopped and stared at him expectantly. Aunt Haley whispered something in his ear and I could tell he was processing it. "We'll talk after school." He stated as he walked away.

"You ready?" I questioned Ashley and Ryan as I walked out the door. They both nodded and followed me out to the truck. We all got in, not a word passed between us as I sped off down the road. For once in the past year I didn't stop at the café for my coffee, I just continued straight to the school.

Ryan got out as soon as we got there and hurried to his locker. "Mikey." Ashley said grabbing my arm as I tried to walk away. "You wanna tell me what's going on, or just assume I know?"

"You first." I said turning towards her. She gives me a confused look, "About last night." I add.

"Its nothing." She stated.

"Well that nothing is probably going to get me screwed by my uncle."

"Yeah, did you see the look on his face?" She burst out laughing. I have to admit, the look he had was pretty funny. "Now what's really going on?" She questioned.

"We ran into Dan this morning." I sighed as I guided her into the building.

"That bad?"

"Well first he insulted me and my dad." I said opening my locker. "Then he said to say hello to my dad for him."

"Ok, just to clarify. Dan is your grandfather right? " Ashley asked confused. "I mean he was your dad's father?"

"Technically, yeah." I said leaning my back against the lockers.

"So then why is he so mean to you? I mean, you are his grandson."

"I dunno. Uncle Nate said he's always been like that. And as for my dad, Dan abandoned him and my grandma."

"So then why do you let him get to you? Just block him out."

"I usually do, I dunno why he got to me today. He even got to Ryan, and that never happens." I pushed myself away from my locker and walked with her to hers. I leaned my head against the one next to it as she got her books out. "So what wrong last night, I mean you show up at my door in the middle of the night crying, there had to be something wrong."

"Me and my parents got in a big fight last night when I got home." She said quietly as she shoved a book into her bag. I watched her intently; trying to read her, figure out what was going on.

"About what?" I asked.

"Everything. Me coming home late, my 'attitude', my grades, you." She explained, a small laugh as she said the last one.

"Me? What did I do?" I laughed a little.

"They think you're the reason I'm not doing well in school." She said shutting her locker and turning to face me. "They think you distract me."

I had to laugh; its like they never even met me before. I've always been the one to try to get her to pay more attention; she is the one that always distracts me. "Ya ok." I laughed with her. "Are your grades really that bad?" She nodded, a faint smile still on her lips. "I can help you know, I'll tutor you."

"I dunno." She said hesitantly.

"Why not?" I questioned as I laid my hand on her arm. "I know what I'm doing."

"Mikey, what are we?" She asked.

"Uh, humans?" I laughed, oblivious to what she meant. I could tell it wasn't the answer she was looking for. "Like what, us?"

"Yeah. What are we?" She asked motioning between us. "I mean, after last night. Was that just a one-time thing? Does it change anything?"

"I dunno." I found myself smiling. "I do know I could get used to kissing you." And that was the truth. When our lips met, I had never felt so alive; it was like electricity was shooting through my body and I felt like I could do anything. It was the first time in a while where I was truly happy, there was nothing else on my mind.

"Really now?" She said taking a step closer to me, our faces inches apart, and the butterflies in my stomach growing by the second. I nodded, not sure if I could say anything. She moved a little closer, a smile on her face. "That's good to know." She laughed as she took off running down the hall. I groaned to myself as the first bell rang.

They day went by relatively fast after that; all day I kept finding myself sneaking glances over at Ashley, who for once, was actually trying to pay attention. The bell rang for the end of school, but I still had my first day of basketball practice.

"Walk you to practice?" She offered as we exited the main building and made our way towards the gym. I suddenly found myself curious to exactly what we were. I didn't want to go and blow anything if we had a chance, but I didn't want to just sit back and let it pass me by either.

I stopped walking, pulling her back towards me. I needed to know if there really was something there, or if it was just heat of the moment. I grabbed her hand firmly and pulled her so her body hit against mine and instantly pushed my lips into hers. I was right…there was definitely something there.

She pulled back, a smile on both of our faces. "You're right, I could get used to that too." I walked away slowly, a big smile plastered on my face. "Call me later." She stated.

Basketball practice was definitely not what I expected. Ever play something over and over in your head, something that you think is going to happen, and you think about it so much that you begin to think that its real? Well I was undeniably wrong.

When I got home I collapsed down on my bed, every muscle in my body ached. I found out that I had muscles that I didn't know I had. Sometime after my Uncle Nate stopped yelling I fell asleep, still in my practice clothes.

Ah, dreams, my happy place; my place away from all reality. Suddenly I felt a jolt and my eyes opened leisurely. A smile instinctively crept onto my lips as I saw her hovering over me. I could absolutely get used to waking up this way.

"You never called me young man." She fake scolded me as she lay down, her head resting on my chest. I just grunted. "Practice that bad?" Again I grunted.

"I meant to call." I said straining my arm to stoke her hair lightly. "But when I got home, my lovely uncle decided it was time to have, the talk."

"The talk?" She questioned.

_Uncle Nate walked into my room; Aunt Haley and Ryan close behind. "Sit." Uncle Nate said to Ryan making him sit next to me on the bed. "We need to talk." He stated._

"_About what?" I questioned as I struggled to sit up. _

"_You guys are at that age…" Aunt Haley said trying to find the right words. "Where you're interested in girls." _

"_Oh god." I moaned burying my head into my hands. I've been dreading this moment forever._

"_Mom." Ryan said with a look of disgust on his face. "We really don't need to do this."_

"_Just shut up and listen." Uncle Nate said pushing him back down onto my bed. "I don't want you guys getting in over your head. Before you make that decision I want you to think if it's really worth it."_

"_I can't believe your actually saying this." I mumbled to myself._

"_You have to look past the moment." Aunt Haley added. "Think if it is really right. You should be in love, not just in the moment. You have to think long term. We waited, and it made us stronger." She said motioning between her and Uncle Nate._

"_Mom!" Ryan cried again. "I really, really, don't want to hear that!" I had to laugh a little. This was uncomfortable for me; it had to be unbearable for him._

"_But, just incase you decided your ready." Uncle Nate said reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. "You should at least be safe about it." He threw something onto each of our laps._

"_Condoms?" I questioned skeptically. _

"_Yeah." Uncle Nate stated and I could tell even he was starting to become uncomfortable. "You put them on…"_

_"I know what they are!" I said covering my ears so I wouldn't hear him finish._

"Oh wow." She laughed loudly. "I guess they wouldn't be too fond of this scene right here."

"Probably not." I laughed with her. I felt her starting to sit up so I pulled her back down. "Where you going? I didn't say I wasn't"


End file.
